Enviromental concerns and IMO Response
There are several international rules to govern international shipping, in this section will review the regulatory frameworks developed by IMO, that have to do with the impact shipping has on the environment and the subsequent climate change, in order to address this issue. There are two organisations that together develop regulatory frameworks; these are the IMO and UNCLOS that have to do with the regulations of international shipping and international law regarding sea respectively. The UNCLOS has a plethora of references to the protection of the environment. Some of the most important articles are about the State responsibility for protecting the environment.
In 1948, a UN body in charge of maritime affairs was created. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) acquired its final name in 1982. The IMO presently consists of an Assembly, a Council, a number of Committees and a Secretariat. The structures of the IMO and its secretariat can be simplified as shown in Figure 3 below. (Ziarati et al, MariFuture, Development Paper, 2018-2019)(See for instance the 35th Development Paper published in July 2019 - http://www.marifuture.org/Reports/Development-Papers/ADP_07_2019_MARIFUTURE.pdf).
The IMO structures
The IMO Secretariat Structure
Figure 3: IMO and its secretariat structures (Ziarati et al, MariFuture, Development Papers 2018-2019).